The South Sydney Rabbitohs are pleased to announce their 23-man squad for the 2016 Charity Shield to be played at ANZ Stadium on Saturday 13 February at the family-friendly time of 5:30pm against the St George Illawarra Dragons. The Rabbitohs have named 15 players with first grade experience including new recruits Dane Nielsen, Damien Cook, Michael Oldfield and Hymel Hunt, plus a host of young, up-and-coming players looking to prove themselves ahead of round one of the NRL Telstra Premiership. John Sutton will captain the South Sydney side against the Dragons in what will be a big weekend of Rugby League action. The Charity Shield kicks off at 5:30pm with the All Stars game set to follow at 7:30pm from Brisbane. Proceeds from the Charity Shield match go towards supporting the Rabbitohs’ and Dragons’ selected charities. The Rabbitohs support Souths Cares, an independent, not-for-profit, public benevolent institution, established in 2006 to support the local community and address social need across the South Sydney region. Souths Cares’ charter is to support disadvantaged, marginalised and indigenous youth and their families through a three-pillar framework of Employment, Education and Healthy and Active Lifestyles. Grevsmuhl, Johnston, Tyrrell, Sam Burgess and George Burgess were unavailable due to injury. Inglis, Reynolds and Tom Burgess are on representative duties.
Bunker in Operation
The bunker will be in full operation during those games," Greenberg said. "The only thing, you won't hear the audio or see the pictures from the bunker on your broadcast. "The reason for that is we're in trial mode, we're still working with the new technology, we're working with new people. We're going to work through that operation this weekend. "The decisions will come from the central system – that's the first time. The bunker looks phenomenal. It's a massive change for the game. "And the reason I say that is, if you go to some of our suburban grounds, we can't have two video referees sitting next to each because there's no space, there's grounds where a try is scored and they can't see half the ground because people stand up, and there are grounds where they are in the middle of making a key decision that one of the fans will have a beer in one hand and will be banging on the window while he's trying to make that decision. "That's the current environment, but we go to a new environment where it's state of the art and we've looked across the world to find the best in practice model and we're the first sport in this country to do it. "It's a fundamental change to how the game is being officiated. When you watch Channel Nine and Fox Sports this year, you're going to watch it in a very different way when you watch key decisions on the field. We think that will create great value." The system was tested during the Auckland Nines last weekend although no official decisions were made from the Eveleigh base. While the bunker will be in full swing come round one, the NRL is exploring the prospect of having a live match-review committee for the first time. It is tradition for charges to be handed down about midday on Monday following the weekend games, however the NRL is working towards charges being dished out just after games like they are after State of Origins. This will not happen before the start of the season but could come into play during the halfway point of the competition. "We'll still go through the same process until we get comfortable with how the technology is working," Greenberg said. "In the future [having a live match-review process is] how I see it. This year, it will happen for Thursday night football and it will happen this year for Monday night football, we're doing that already. "But whether we take it to every game is something that we're going to test from the start of the year. It's the game evolving, but we won't change our processes until we're ready too." Match-review panel chairman Michael Buettner will sit with the video referees on Saturday to keep an eye on foul play.
Experimental Trial Rules
An experimental rule will be in place for NRL trial matches which will see differential penalties awarded against players who do not play the ball correctly. NRL Head of Football Todd Greenberg said referees would be encouraged to strictly police the new interpretations to ensure players were penalised for failing to play the ball correctly. Mr Greenberg said NRL match officials had worked with the clubs through the pre-season on ensuring their understanding of the change was clear. "This has been identified as an area which needs to be addressed and there clearly needs to be some increased regulation of the play-the-ball," Mr Greenberg said. "We have consulted the coaches and also worked with the clubs over the pre-season to ensure they are ready for the changes. "It is a relatively minor offence but it is a source of frustration for many and it is clear there needs to be some penalty applied for failing to make a genuine attempt to play the ball. "We understand how critical penalties can be in the context of a game, but a differential penalty will ensure that referees can apply the rules more vigilantly." The success of the change would be assessed before it was decided whether the rule would be adopted in the future. Trial matches, including the Harvey Norman Rugby League All Stars, will also include new rules preventing teams from forming a wall to prevent charge-downs from field-goal attempts, ahead of its introduction in the NRL Telstra Premiership. The rule allows that "if two or more players form a wall (side by side) next to the play the ball and don’t allow the opportunity for a defending player to move directly towards the player in possession, the referee will penalise for obstruction". New shot clock timings will also be in place for the Harvey Norman Rugby League All Stars, this Saturday’s Charity Shield, as well as the Penrith-Parramatta trial match on February 20, ahead of the formal introduction of the technology in Round One. Following recommendations put to the Competition Committee and the Coaches Conference, the ARL Commission endorsed timings of 35 seconds for scrums and 30 seconds for drop-outs. Any team which does not pack a scrum or execute a drop-out in the required time will be penalised. Should both teams not pack the team with the loose head and feed will receive the penalty.
The Rabbitohs’ team is:
Flbk - 1 - Oldfield, Michael Wing - 2 - Gray, Aaron Cntr - 3 - Goodwin, Bryson Cntr - 4 - Hunt, Hymel Wing - 5 - Olive, John 5/8 - 6 - Walker, Cody Half - 7 - Keary, Luke Prop - 8 - Clark, Jason Hook - 9 - McInnes, Cameron Prop - 10 - Musgrove, Zane SRow - 11 - Turner, Kyle SRow - 12 - Sutton, John (c) Lock - 13 - Carter, Paul Int - 14 - Cook, Damien Int - 15 - Brown, Nathan Int - 16 - Auva'a, Kirisome Int - 17 - Neilson, Dane Int - 18 - Hughes, Tom Int - 19 - Murphy, Ed Int - 20 - Whitelaw, Cheyne Int - 21 - Gray, Brock Int - 22 - Travers, Riley Int - 23 - Gosiewaki, Jack Coach – Maguire, Michael
The South Sydney Rabbitohs U20 Holden Cup side will play the St George-Illawarra starting at 3:15pm The South Sydney Rabbitohs Holden Cup team is
Flbk - 1 - Yates, Riley Wing - 2 - Cottrell, Tevita Cntr - 3 - Goolagong, Damon Cntr - 4 - Ellison, Josh Wing - 5 - McGrady, Malcolm 5/8 - 6 - Leddy, Harry Half - 7 - Coleman, Liam Prop - 8 - Rudolf, Toby Hook - 9 - Sands, Maia Prop - 10 - Davis, Tim SRow - 11 - McCudden, Jacob SRow - 12 - Lillis, Rory Lock - 13 - Hamlin, Gabe Int - 14 - Perrin, Tom Int - 15 - Cordtz, Beau Int - 16 - Winters, Steve Int - 17 - Hunt, Jamel Int - 18 - Brennan, Jake Int - 19 - Peato, Joe Int - 20 - Titie, Evander Int - 21 - Ili, Kalani Int - 22 - Saunders, Josh Int - 23 - Sautu, Elijah Coach - Gardiner, Ben
The South Sydney Rabbitohs SG Ball U18 team play the Sydney Roosters at Henson Park on Saturday February 13 kickoff at 12 noon. The team is
Flbk - 1 - O'Connor, Dylan Wing - 2 - Mitsias, Jonny Cntr - 3 - Graham, Campbell Cntr - 4 - Alatipi, Targuinn Wing - 5 - Hiroti, Mawene 5/8 - 6 - Hawkins, Dean Half - 7 - Preece, Kurtis Prop - 8 - Guler, Emre Hook - 9 - Cook, Josh Prop - 10 - Downes, Sam SRow - 11 - Manowski, Blake SRow - 12 - Los'e, Joey Lock - 13 - Murray, Cameron Int - 14 - Hunt, Phoenix Int - 15 - Fifita, Daniel Int - 16 - Ngamotu, Keenan Int - 17 - Rodwell, Ky Int - 18 - Reilly, Triston Int - 19 - Turner, Lee Int - 20 - Hookey, Kobi Int - 21 - Fuimaono, Henry-Siriah Int - 22 - Kambos, Jake Int - 23 - Mougios, Nicholas Int - 24 - Boyce, Rangi-Paoa Coach - King, Matt
The South Sydney Rabbitohs Harold Mathews U16's will kick off at 10:30am and the team is -
Flbk - 1 - Armstrong, Dalton Wing - 2 - Leuii, Reihana Cntr - 3 - Dellow, Raine Cntr - 4 - Taumoepeau, Jenson Wing - 5 - Saisoaa, Ethan 5/8 - 6 - Dive, Matt Half - 7 - Turner, Paul Prop - 8 - Manowski, Aidan Hook - 9 - Quick, Will Prop - 10 - Larkin, Harry SRow - 11 - Bushby, Casey SRow - 12 - Chan-Foon, Maila Lock - 13 - Butcher, Egan Int - 14 - Schlede, Sam Int - 15 - Siontali, Trevor-Joseph Int - 16 - Dodds, John Int - 18 - Savage, Kaylib Int - 19 - Bouris, Ky Int - 20 - Handley, Ben Int - 21 - Little, Jordan Int - 22 - Janvrin, Adrian Int - 23 - Stewart, Jack Int - 24 - Ruka, Mase Int - 25 - Kaya, Berat Coach - Peterson, Jason